Cobbers

The Bush Library rooms finalised

allan — Sun, 28 Dec 2008 21:45:59 +0000

The George W. Bush Presidential Library is now in the planning stages. The Library will include:

The Weapons of Mass Destruction Room which no one has yet been able to find.

The Hurricane Katrina Room which is still under construction.

The Alberto Gonzales Room where you won’t be able to remember anything.

The Texas Air National Guard Room where you don’t even have to show up.

The Walter Reed Hospital Room where they don’t let you in.

The Guantanamo Bay Room where they don’t let you out.

The National Debt Room which is huge and has no ceiling.

The Tax Cut Room with entry restricted to the wealthy.

The Economy Room which is in the toilet.

The Iraq War Room: After you complete your first tour, they make you go back for a second, third, fourth and sometimes fifth tour.

The Dick Cheney Room in the famous undisclosed location, complete with shotgun gallery.

The Environmental Conservation Room still empty, but very warm.

The Supreme Court Gift Shop where you can buy an election.

The Decider Room complete with dart board, magic 8-ball, Ouija board, dice, coins and straws.

Additionally, the museum will have a 20-electron microscope to help you locate the president’s accomplishments.

Admission: Republicans – free; Democrats – $1000 or 3 Euros

Bush snubbed at G20 Summit

allan — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 22:35:20 +0000

See what happens when you get grumpy with our Kevin.

Bushed

allan — Fri, 12 Sep 2008 01:23:29 +0000

Interesting visual …

George Bush proves to be quite an entertainer

allan — Fri, 11 Jul 2008 04:35:15 +0000

The American leader, who has been condemned throughout his presidency for failing to tackle climate change, ended a private meeting with the words: “Goodbye from the world’s biggest polluter.”

He then punched the air while grinning widely, as the rest of those present including Gordon Brown and Nicolas Sarkozy looked on in shock.

[via Telegraph]

Sign of the times?

allan — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 04:22:20 +0000

Worth watching to the end.

A Mosaic in memory

allan — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 00:47:42 +0000

On Huffington Post today:

A mosaic in remembrance of the 4,000 men and women who died in the war in Iraq — and the two men who would continue this great tragedy.

Click here to see the full (very large) image.

A sad milestone

allan — Mon, 24 Mar 2008 04:37:04 +0000

The number of U.S. soldiers to die in Iraq has reached 4000, the US military said today, just days after the fifth anniversary of a war that President George W. Bush says the United States is on track to win.

Four soldiers were killed late on Sunday when a roadside bomb exploded near their vehicle in southern Baghdad. One soldier was wounded in the attack.

Say no more …

allan — Sat, 22 Mar 2008 00:52:47 +0000

Five years on, Bush talks up Iraq victory

allan — Thu, 20 Mar 2008 00:47:44 +0000

President George W. Bush said on Wednesday he had no regrets about the unpopular war in Iraq despite the ‘high cost in lives and treasure’ and declared that the United States was on track for victory.

Marking the fifth anniversary of the US-led invasion with a touch of the swagger he showed early in the war, Bush said in a speech at the Pentagon, ‘The successes we are seeing in Iraq are undeniable.’

With less than 11 months left in office and his approval ratings near the lows of his presidency, Bush is trying to shore up support for the Iraq campaign, which has damaged U.S. credibility abroad and is sure to define his legacy.”

Some numbers from Iraq

allan — Wed, 19 Mar 2008 23:34:12 +0000

Photograph by Kevin Dooley

Within hours, or days, the inevitable will happen … a luckless US military member will be killed and become the 4,000th victim of the war in Iraq.

It is time to look at the real numbers behind this futile, stupid war, a war launched on lies and corruption.

The Cost to US Forces in Iraq

3,990: American troops who have died in Iraq since the start of the war. [icasualties.org, 3/17/08]

29,395: Number of U.S. service members that have been wounded in hostile action since the start of U.S. military operations in Iraq. [AP, 3/11/08]

2,100: Number of troops who tried to commit suicide or injure themselves increased from 350 in 2002 to 2,100 last year. [US News and World Report, 2/25/08]

The Cost to Iraqis and Journalists

8,000: Number of Iraqi military and police killed since June 2003. [Brookings Institute, Iraq Index, March 13, 2008]

82,000-89,000: Estimate of Iraqi civilians casualties from violence since the beginning of the Iraq War. [Iraq Body Count]

127: Number of journalists killed in Iraq since March 2003. [Committee to Protect Journalists]

The Cost to US National Security

1,188: Number of global terrorist incidents from January – September 11th, 2001. [American Security Project, "Are We Winning?," September 2007]

5,188: Number of global terrorist incidents in from January- September 11th, 2006. [American Security Project, "Are We Winning?," September 200

The Cost of Funding the War in Iraq

$50-60 Billion: Bush Administration's pre-war estimates of the cost of the war. [New York Times, 12/31/02]

$12 Billion: Direct cost per month of the Iraq War. [Washington Post, Bilmes and Stiglitz Op-Ed, 3/9/08]

$526 Billion: Amount of money already appropriated by Congress for the War in Iraq. [CRS, 2/22/08]

$3 Trillion: Total estimated cost of the Iraq War. [Washington Post, Bilmes and Stiglitz Op-Ed, 3/9/08]

Economic Costs of War in Iraq

$33.51: Cost of a barrel of oil in March 2003. [Energy Information Administration]

$105.68: Cost of a barrel of oil on March 17, 2008. [NYMEX]

There are many more revealing and scary numbers.